This application claims the priority of German application 196 26 641 filed on Jul. 2, 1996, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a child seat for a vehicle, having a shell part for accommodating the child and a base which can be fastened on a vehicle seat, the shell part being releasably connected with the base by way of a coupling device, and having a device for adjusting the inclination of the shell part with respect to the base.
From German Patent Document DE 40 06 030 A1 of the firm Spalding & Evenflo Co., a Reboard child seat is known which is composed of a shell part and a base. The shell part accommodates the child by way of its own belt system. The base, in turn, must be fastened on a vehicle seat by way of the vehicle-side safety belt. A coupling device establishes a secure connection between the shell part and the base. For use outside the vehicle, the shell part can be separated from the base by way of the coupling device.
It is a disadvantage that the form-locking connection between the shell part and the base is eliminated during the adjusting operation. If the inclination of the shell part is to be changed also during the drive, for example, when, during the drive, the child falls asleep in the sitting position of the shell part, the desired adjusting can take place only with a correspondingly high safety risk because there will no longer be a connection between the shell part and the base during the adjusting movement. For safety reasons, the drive must therefore be interrupted.
It is an object of the invention to develop the known child seat such that, also when the inclination of the shell part is adjusted, a secure connection is ensured between the shell part and the base.
This object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by providing an arrangement wherein the coupling device has at least one connection element which selectively assumes a locking position, a securing position and a removal position, the locking position provided with a form closure between the connection element and the shell part or the base in a direction of an inclination adjustment as well as in a release direction in which the shell part can be removed from the base, wherein the securing position accommodates a free movement in the direction of the inclination adjustment and with a form closure in the release direction, and wherein the removal position accommodates a free movement in the direction of the inclination adjustment as well as in the release direction.
The connection element, which according to the invention can take up an intermediate position (securing position) in which an adjustment of the inclination is possible but at the same time a movement in the release direction of the shell part is prevented, can therefore be arranged on the shell part as well as on the base and therefore acts in a form-locking manner either upon the base or upon the shell part. By means of the invention, a secure adjustment of the inclination is made possible also during the drive so that, for changing the inclination of the shell part, the drive must no longer be interrupted.
The invention can be implemented by a single connection element or by several connection elements or groups of connection elements. In this case, the locking, securing or removal position can also be taken up by respectively different connection elements. The form-locking can take place by a punctiform or flat contact between the connection element (or connection elements) and correspondingly designed areas of the base or of the shell part.
According to advantageous aspects of preferred embodiments of the invention, a step-by-step adjustment of the inclination of the shell part is achieved in that a pin-type connection element engages in different openings of a locking strip. In the securing position of the connection element, the connection element is outside the locking strip but still reaches behind a stop so that an unintentional releasing of the shell part from the base (for example, in the case of a vehicle crash) becomes impossible.
In certain preferred embodiments of the invention, a displacement of the connection element is provided in the transverse direction of the child seat by means of an inclined stop surface. The transverse displacement of the connection element can take place in a direct manner, for example, by a section which is arranged on the connection element and which runs up on the inclined plane. In certain preferred embodiments an indirect displacement of the connection element is provided by way of a lever which, in turn, interacts with the inclined plane.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, after the adjustment of the inclination is completed, an automatic locking of the connection element is achieved into the respective nearest opening of the locking strip.
According to certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the connection element is arranged on the shell part side and is moved together with the lever which, corresponding to the respective usage position of the child seat, can take up different positions. The locking strip and the stop are arranged on the base which, as a rule, is constructed as a frame formed of steel tubes. In a particularly advantageous manner, the lever can be constructed as a component of a carrying bow of the shell part.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.